DEREK McInnes shrugged off Aberdeen’s lengthy journey to Latvia to face Ventspils, after their flight was delayed for six hours, insisting it would have no bearing on tonight’s Europa League action.
Aberdeen were due to fly to Riga at 9am yesterday, but their plane suffered serious engine difficulties when it came into land in the north-east after a bird strike and a replacement aircraft was needed, which did not depart until 3pm.
The Dons had not been due to travel the three hours north to Ventspils until today anyway and had planned to train at local side Spartak Jurmala’s stadium last night. But when news of their flight’s delay came through, McInnes ordered his players back to Pittodrie to train and he said it was only a minor inconvenience as Aberdeen try to protect a 3-0 first leg lead tonight in the Baltic state.
“It’s just one of those things,” he said. “We were not training at the stadium anyway because of logistics. Our timings were the same, we will eat and rest at the same time.”
After they were beaten 1-0 by Fola Esch of Luxembourg in the previous round, McInnes is taking nothing for granted against the Latvian side, who are managed by English coach Paul Ashworth.
“The game is still in the balance, if it was the other way round and we were 3-0 down I’d still feel the game was alive.
“We have to be mindful of that, the job isn’t done yet.
“There is 90 minutes to go and we have to use the maturity and experience we have gained over the years. The aim is to get through the tie with no fuss, no drama.”
Meanwhile, Kenyan midfielder Khalid Aucho will arrive in Aberdeen tomorrow for a trial after securing a visa.
Capped 17 times by Kenya, Aucho secured his release from the country's champions Gor Mahia for a trial at Pittodrie and will feature in a friendly against Arbroath on Saturday.
"Khalid will train with the under 20s and we’ll assess whether he’s ready for the game on Saturday," McInnes said.
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